Highlights

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) renders show the absence of a Home button

There is also no 3.5mm headphone jack

The Smart Connector sits at the back

While the tech world is majorly anticipating the arrival of the 2018 iPhone lineup at its September 12 event, Apple is also likely to bring a new version of its iPad Pro 12.9. Some CAD-enabled renders and a video showing the design of the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) have surfaced online to give us an overview of what the Cupertino company is making this time. The renders show the absence of the 3.5mm headphone jack - a move that is quite likely since Apple is already successfully selling its iPhone models without any headphone jack. Further, there is no Home button on the renders. We can safely assume the new iPad Pro models will come with Apple's Face ID technology.

The renders and video, courtesy OnLeaks and MySmartPrice, show off thinner bezels on all the four sides of the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018). There is a symmetrical display panel seen on the iPad in the renders - thanks to the absence of the Home button that sits below the display of all the existing and the past iPad models. The lack of the Home button was part of initial reports, which suggest the availability of Face ID instead. Also, the first iOS 12 beta was spotted to have some references of Face ID support on iPad. The beta version had a setup UI to enable the facial recognition feature on iPad just in line with how one can enable Face ID on the iPhone X.

Apart from hinting at Face ID, the renders and the video made using computer-aided design inputs show that there isn't any notch on the frontal area. This is unlike the iPhone X and all the major Android devices that have so far debuted with a facial recognition feature.

Coming towards the video, it shows that the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Antenna lines are also visible from the side view of the iPad. This suggests that Apple may continue to use metal over a glass panel. Similarly, the Smart Connector on the new iPad Pro is suggested to be relocated to the rear. The existing iPad Pro models notably have the three-pin interface at the left side. The rear-side placement of the Smart Connector will probably help users easily work with Face ID while using an external keyboard cover. This might also help the company reduce the thickness of the side bezels to some extent.

The iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) is rumoured to come with the A12 or A12X chipset at the September 12 event. A 10.5-inch iPad Pro variant is also speculated to debut at the forthcoming Apple event. The smaller variant that isn't likely to have any major differences against the 12.9-inch variant.

New iPhones may well be amazing but will Apple follow a new strategy in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.